RADIO
It's time to break out all your 90's gear and get ready for a retro Sunday night in Darlington. NASCAR heads to the state of South Carolina for one of my favorite races of the year, The Southern 500 Presented by Bojangles (they make some good chicken strips). This race is more than just another week racing for points, it's a tribute to some of NASCAR's veteran drivers.
One driver that stands out the most this weekend is William Byron. Byron and crew made the 24 Chevy Camaro into a replica of Cole Trickle's Chevy Lumia from the 90's movie "Days of Thunder" starring Tom Cruise. I love that car, and I've already spoken about how I feel about Byron in this week's Sleepers And Drivers To Avoid article, and now that he has the pole I'm even more confident in my choice.
Before we crank up the Van Halen and Lynyrd Skynard, it's important to note that we will be covering qualifying as well as my picks this week (kinda like a throwback to my first articles). Remember, the veteran drivers are your friends at this track so be sure to have some in your lineups on Sunday. Before the race starts Sunday night, I would love to see all of your pictures of you rocking your 90's NASCAR gear on Twitter via my handle @GarageGuyChase.
Bojangles' Southern 500 Qualifying Report
William Byron took the pole at Darlington Raceway posting a speed of 172.487. Byron may have the fastest car, but expect to see him fade into the pack after the first stage Sunday night. Byron is followed by Brad Keselowski who qualified second with a speed of 172.088.
One driver who is interesting to watch in the Top 10 will be Jimmie Johnson. The 48 Chevy Camaro is sporting a throwback paint scheme of his old off-road truck "Butch" that he started racing back in 1995 (also Denny Hamlin colors). Johnson qualified sixth with a speed of 171.202, and has a lot of folks pulling for him to make a playoff push.
The big-name slide of the week is Kyle Busch. Busch qualified 33rd after having engine issues which resulted in the team having to do an engine swap (sounds a little like Days of Thunder). I am personally avoiding Kyle Busch this week solely due to my gut feeling that something isn't going to go right (take it how you will).
Bojangles' Southern 500 Qualifying Order:
- (#24) William Byron, Chevrolet
- (#2) Brad Keselowski, Ford
- (#42) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet
- (#1) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet
- (#41) Daniel Suarez, Ford
- (#48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet
- (#22) Joey Logano, Ford
- (#9) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet
- (#11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota
- (#12) Ryan Blaney, Ford
- (#4) Kevin Harvick, Ford
- (#37) Chris Buescher, Chevrolet
- (#14) Clint Bowyer, Ford
- (#3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet
- (#20) Erik Jones, Toyota
- (#88) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet
- (#21) Paul Menard, Ford
- (#8) Daniel Hemric, Chevrolet
- (#95) Matt DiBenedetto, Toyota
- (#47) Ryan Preece, Chevrolet
- (#17) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford
- (#19) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota
- (#34) Michael McDowell, Ford
- (#6) Ryan Newman, Ford
- (#00) Landon Cassil, Chevrolet
- (#38) David Ragan, Ford
- (#32) Corey Lajoie, Ford
- (#43) Bubba Wallace, Chevrolet
- (#13) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet
- (#10) Aric Almirola, Ford
- (#15) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet
- (#36) Matt Tifft, Chevrolet
- (#18) Kyle Busch, Toyota
- (#77) Reed Sorenson, Chevrolet
- (#52) JJ Yeley, Chevrolet
- (#51) BJ McLeod, Ford
- (#27) Joe Nemechek, Chevrolet
- (#54) GarrettSmithley, Ford
- (#39) Joey Gase, Toyota
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DFS Lineup Picks - DraftKings, FanDuel
Aric Almirola #10 (DraftKings $7,800 | FanDuel $8,800)
The man with the Rick and Morty "Moon Man" look has gone from worst to first. I wrote earlier in the week that Almirola was someone to avoid at this track, but a deep starting position can cause me to have a quick change of heart.
Almirola is starting in P30, and placed third in the first practice with a speed of 170.065. He has the speed to work his way up from that position, and should be a good value play at Darlington, even with a backup car.
Denny Hamlin #11 (DraftKings $11,400 | FanDuel $14,000)
Hamlin had some crappy luck in Saturday's Xfinity Series race after winning it, and then getting disqualified during post-race inspection. If we see the type of racing from Hamlin that we saw Saturday, DFS players who start him need not worry.
Hamlin qualified 9th (top Toyota on the board) with a speed of 168.152 and placed in the Top 10 in both practices on Friday. Over the past three years, Hamlin has scored an average of 63.25 FPTS at this track.
Brad Keselowski #2 (DraftKings $9,600 | FanDuel $11,000)
Slam Brad K's SZN is back, and it looks even sexier with a Rusty Wallace throwback paint scheme. Keselowski is starting Sunday's race second and had a best lap speed of 172.088 in qualifying.
Keselowski had a rough first practice, only getting the "Miller Lite mobile" up to a speed of 167.619, but followed up with a sixth-place finish in the second practice. Look for Keselowski to lead some laps Sunday night, and possibly take down victory lane.
Martin Truex Jr. #19 (DraftKings $10,200 | FanDuel $12,500)
Truex Jr. starting in 22nd has "START HIM NOW" written all over it. Truex Jr. has averaged 64 FPTS in the past three races at this track, and had two good showings in Friday's practices.
Truex Jr. finished this raced just outside of the Top 10 last year, and placed three consecutive Top 10s the years before. Truex Jr. could easily finish this week in the Top 5, and could take home the trophy.
More NASCAR DFS Analysis
Be sure to also check out this week's Revvin' Up, a weekly video series by Sean Engel focused on previewing every Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race from DFS perspectives. Sean Engel is a six-time DraftKings NASCAR DFS tournament winner and a 15-year NASCAR veteran.
For any and all fantasy NASCAR questions, find me on Twitter @GarageGuyChase. Good luck RotoBallers!
